Each year, iGR offers major multiclient studies to measure, define, analyze and forecast the opportunity in key wireless industry topics. For 2007, we completed three multiclient studies:

Tween Teen Market Opportunity Study, 2007

The tween and teen wireless market is developing quickly. Compared to when iGR conducted a similar study in the summer of 2005, this 2007 study showed significantly more children under 10 years old having a cell phone of their own. The penetration rate of cell phones with teens over 15 years old is also very high – these age groups can effectively be considered saturated.

To understand the dynamics in the Tween and Young Teen market in more detail and answer detailed questions and the need for parental controls, iGR conducted this multiclient study to survey parents of Tweens and Young Teens, interview the children themselves, interview key Tween industry players and present detailed recommendations and forecasts to the wireless industry.

Because of the young age of the target market, interviews cannot be conducted with the children. Hence, iGR conducted a Web-based survey with 1,231 parents of children aged 5 to 17 years old. Just over one thousand children were interviewed.

The survey was conducted online and is therefore skewed toward families that have Internet access. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and The Economist Intelligence Unit, the penetration of Internet users in the U.S. in 2006 was 69.3 percent by population or approximately 90 percent by household. The Federal Communications Commission states that consumer broadband access reached 50.4 million lines in 2006. Internet access is higher for families with higher incomes; a trend that corresponds to some degree with cell phone use.

The survey was also split by race: approximately 47 percent were Caucasian, 33 percent were Hispanic/Latino-Americans, and 16 percent African-American. Fifty percent of the Hispanic-American respondents answered the survey in Spanish (iGR provided a Spanish translation of the survey). The sample compares to the U.S. population which is split 75 percent Caucasian, 12.5 Hispanic/Latino-American and 12.3 percent African American (U.S. Census Bureau). The sample is therefore skewed toward Hispanics and slightly toward African-American.

Once the research was completed, iGR prepared a detailed set of recommendations. Analysis and recommendations included:

• The current penetration of mobile handsets, services, applications and content in the tween and young teen market segments,
• Who (parent or child) selected the handset (and why), the mobile operator (and why) and any accessories (and why),
• Who decides which handset the child will use (and why), and which features the handset will have (e.g. camera, music capable, GPS, web access, push-to-talk, etc.),
• Who (parent or child) pays for the monthly cost of the mobile phone and why,
• The current barriers to entry in each segment for those children that do not currently have a handset,
• The demand for and current use of parental control solutions, both basic and advanced,
• Prioritize these barriers and determine those that have a critical effect on adoption and usage by tweens and young teens, including usage concerns of parents,
• The potential of the tween and young teens wireless applications market, including but not limited to messaging, gaming, music, photos and other data services,
• Mobile operator and MVNO concerns and plans regarding tween and young teens services,
• Specific device requirements for tween- and young teen-specific devices,
• The details of the tween and young teen value chain, including billing, customer care and value-added service considerations,
• Market share of major tween and young teen mobile offers, and
• Forecast tween and young teen services and devices in North America.

Study data and results are delivered as:

• Detailed project reports, including major findings and recommendations
• Spreadsheet containing all survey data from the study. Additional cross-tabs can be provided as required.
• Executive Seminar to review the results and recommendations.

Seniors Market Opportunity Study, 2007

The wireless and mobile market in the U.S. has developed considerably in the last ten years, especially in the younger market segments. While the industry has designed products specifically for the tween, tweens, college student, consumer, and business user, the senior has so far been neglected.

This situation is starting to charge, although slowly. Verizon Wireless is the only operator to offer rate plans and a new handset for seniors and this is a very recent occurrence. Other operators have relationships with charity groups to provide handsets in cases where assistance is needed. Jitterbug, operated by GreatCall, is an MVNO dedicated to the seniors market with a couple of handsets and dedicated operator-assisted services.

To further identify the major trends and issues in the senior market segment, iGR conducted a Web- and telephone-based survey (to ensure that the opinions of Seniors who do not have Web access are understood) targeting consumers aged 65 to 85 years old. Both current cellular users and non users were included in the Web and telephone survey fielded in July 2007. The goal of each survey was to determine the need and desire for and receptiveness towards wireless services targeted at the Seniors.

The demographics of the 972 seniors interviewed for this study were:

• 53 percent were married, and 27 percent were widowed
• 33 percent had a college degree or higher
• Two thirds had cable TV and one quarter had satellite TV
• One third lived in an urban area and 46 percent were in a suburban area
• 11 percent were currently employed and 80 percent were retired
• 18 percent earned less than $25,000 per year, 53.6 percent earned less than $50,000 and 5.5 percent earned more than $100,000 per year. 16 percent refused to answer.

Once the research was completed, iGR provided a detailed set of recommendations:

• Current penetration of mobile handsets, services, applications and content in the Seniors market segments,
• Who (senior or other family member) selected the handset (and why), the mobile operator (and why) and any accessories (and why),
• Who decides which handset the senior will use (and why), and which features the handset will have (e.g. camera, music capable, GPS, web access, push-to-talk, etc.),
• Who (senior, other family member, or employer) pays for the monthly cost of the mobile phone and why,
• Current barriers to entry in each segment for those seniors that do not currently have a handset,
• Prioritize these barriers and determine those that have a critical effect on adoption and usage by Seniors,
• Discuss the potential of the Seniors wireless applications market, including but not limited to messaging, gaming, music, photos and other data services. Note that those over 55 years are statistically very unlikely to use content applications and services.
• Examine mobile operator and MVNO concerns and plans regarding Senior wireless and mobile services,
• Provide competitive analysis of Seniors solution vendors and their offerings,
• Specific device requirements for Seniors-specific devices, including form factor, UI considerations, screen characteristics, etc.,
• Details of the Seniors value chain, including billing, customer care and value-added service considerations,
• Forecast Seniors services and devices in North America.

Study data and results are delivered as:

• Detailed project reports, including major findings and recommendations
• Spreadsheet containing all survey data from the study. Additional cross-tabs can be provided as required.
• Executive Seminar to review the results and recommendations.

Enterprise Wireless & Mobile: China

Mobile workers are one of the hottest markets for cutting-edge wireless and mobile applications, devices and high-speed mobile data networks. In the past several years, iGR has published numerous reports which segment and forecast the U.S. mobile worker market, as well as survey-based reports which provide a great deal of insight into the types of application, devices and data networks used by mobile workers. In short, iGR understands the 54 million-strong U.S. mobile worker market extremely well.

iGR has now extended its successful methodology to provide similar insight into mobile workers in four key Asian markets – South Korea, Japan, China and India.

This first study looks at the mobile worker market in China.

Both South Korea and Japan are heavily penetrated with wireless technology and are often cited as forerunners in the mobile technology race. China and India, despite having significant wireless usage, are much further behind South Korea, Japan or even the U.S. in terms of wireless/mobile adoption. But the potential of the Chinese and Indian markets makes them appealing targets for mobile worker research.

Mobile workers in China represent a huge potential market for original equipment manufacturers, technology vendors, mobile operators, systems integrators, and independent software vendors. The data provided by this study allow our clients to target their offerings on what the mobile workers in China use, need and want.

To understand the current and future use of mobile business devices, services and applications in China, the study:

• Surveyed “white collar” business professionals in China who travel frequently and use a cell phone, smartphone and/or laptop computer while traveling
• Surveys were fielded using lists from in-country survey houses
• Tabulates and analyzes all survey data
• Builds market sizings and forecasts.

Once the research was completed, iGR provided a detailed set of recommendations including:

• Current use of mobile devices, applications and services by mobile workers
• Usage patterns: how mobile workers are currently using their wireless data connections and devices and how this will change as the market grows/develops/changes
• Critical success factors for business mobile devices, applications and services
• Type of “connection” preferred by mobile workers for specific locations and situations
• Prioritization of adoption barriers and determine which of those will have a critical effect on adoption and usage of mobile business devices, applications and services
• Relative value and pricing for mobile data services and what price points each service needs to adopt to be successful
• Cohesive analysis detailing the pros and cons associated with mobile data networks, wireless devices, applications and security considerations
• Market model to estimate adoption of broadband mobile data services (EV-DO, WiMAX, etc) and how the services will impact each other
• Business model and strategy recommendations to vendors (WiFi service providers, mobile operators, equipment/device OEMs) targeting the enterprise market.

Study data and results are delivered as:

• Detailed project reports, including major findings, market sizings, forecasts and recommendations
• MS Excel spreadsheets of all survey data with required and requested cross-tabs
• Executive Seminar at the end of the study to review the results and recommendations.